Evil Blizzard – Everybody Come to Church

Prowler, Stomper, Side, Kav and Filthydirty (sic) – no, not the cast of a Teletubbies reboot, but Evil Blizzard – Preston’s masked, primary-coloured rock ‘n’ rollers – back with a second album of scuzzy (and frequently silly) sonic chaos.

Recorded in a single day and with Richard McNamara of Embrace on production duties (itself an odd proposition, considering the disparity in these respective bands’ sound), Everybody Come to Church is unapologetically loud and intentionally unsophisticated, the daytrip through their posture invoking live set falling strangely flat without the onstage pyrotechnics.

Pockets of 60s psych (Laughing Gas; Watching), 80s riff-rock (Balloon; Are You Evil?) and general idiosyncrasy (Spread The Fear is built around a dub beat without the slightest nod to context) are pillaged for inspiration, but such earnest fretwork and bass-heavy inclinations sit awkwardly against the sense of fun the five-piece simultaneously impart. Hawkwind have been previously mentioned as a comparison – alas, there are too many moments here when it’s more Wind than Hawk. [Duncan Harman]